When thinking about a social norm online, I immediately thought of AIM and proper “AIM” etiquette. One aspect of AIM that has become a standard practice is the away message. When people walk away from their computer or leave their computer for an extended amount of time and stay on AIM, they put up an away message. Away messages give other users information about where people are/what people are doing. They have grown in complexity from being a simple “I am away from my computer” to “Class at 10:10, class at 2:00, work, gym, meeting .. cell.” Away messages now convey information about user’s moods, feelings, beliefs, and activities. When people do not put up an away message, others assume they are at their computer and available to talk.
Where did people learn to even put any message up? While there are no clear “Signs on the Door” when using AIM, I think that people have come to know the norm because of their buddy list and what happens when they do not put up an away message. By looking at one’s buddy list, he/she can see who is available to talk and who is “away.” You can read anyone’s away message and therefore can format your own to look like others. In addition, when you leave your computer without an away message, usually, you come back to find IMs saying hi and then asking “where are you.” This compels people to put up some type of message saying that they are away from their computer.
While there is no “mortal AIM G-d,” I think that the Leviathan emerges in this setting as a result of peoples’ “willingness to conform and … eagerness to preserve a productive online group environment” (70). It makes sense to let people know that you are not at your computer so that they do not IM you or think that you are just ignoring them. Personally, I feel bad on the days I forget to put up an away message and come home to IMs of people asking me questions or giving me information. Therefore, I always try to remember to put up an away message so this does not happen. The away message is effective in signaling to others that you are unavailable and I think that this idea is part of the Leviathan. So while I cannot outright name an authoritative figure on AIM, I think that people do comply with social norms and an underlying Leviathan is definitely present.
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3 comments:
I really like your example...it's really solid. I agree with you when you mention feelings of guilt when you forget to put up an away message. Often it's embarrassing, especially if the instant message contains sensitive, private content that might not be meant for anyone's eyes except yours (this can especially be a problem with roommates).
The Leviathan, I think, can also be described as the cohesiveness of an online relationship between two people. For instance, I know which people on my buddy list often forget to put up away messages. Sometimes I reach the point where I do not bother to IM these people first because I assume that they are not at their computers. Sometimes it takes hours for an AIM screenname to have an "idle" mark beside it (another indicator that the user is away).
I thought it was really interesting how you related an AIM away message to a way of conforming online. We have all of these rituals and traditions that we don't even think about why we actually do these things. Why do we put up away messages? I also liked how you described the Leviathan on AIM not to be an actual physical person, but instead a presence. This is important to remember, because not all Leviathans online are actual people. Sometimes the Leviathan can just be in our head. I think it would be really interesting if you thought a little more about away messages and perhaps related it to self-presentation. Do we use the hyperpersonal model also when writing away messages?
Hi Stefani,
Your blog topic is very eye-catching ;)
The AIM Away Message is such a good topic, because it applies to the vast majority of us college kids (and outside college too of course). It's very true that people regularly put ones up, and some go into extreme detail about why/how they are away.
The Leviathan that you outlined is quite unique - not a physical, concrete form but more abstract. I'd agree that the Leviathan consists of how people are willing to conform (since not putting up an away message when you're away has its consequences). I think it also has to do with the social norm, since people learn this behavior from using AIM and watching others, which becomes the accepted behaviour.
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